Amir Yaron speaks during a ceremony whereby he is sworn in as Bank of Israel governor by Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, in Jerusalem December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
December 24, 2018
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. finance professor Amir Yaron took over as governor of the Bank of Israel on Monday, saying the immediate challenge for the central bank is the “normalisation” of monetary policy.
The Israeli-born Yaron replaces Karnit Flug, whose five-year term ended last month. Deputy Governor Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg has been acting central bank chief since mid-November.
At the last meeting in late November, policymakers raised the benchmark interest rate <ILINR=ECI> to 0.25 percent from 0.1 percent, where the rate had stood since early 2015.
“I view the interest rate as the main and most effective tool for directing monetary policy,” Yaron said moments after he was sworn in.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Tova Cohen)
